Reading Between the Lines
by screwtherulesihavegreenhair
Summary: You see a smile, I see pain, you see sunshine, I see rain. Maybe Ouran Academy can be a fresh start for me. Or could it be that I should have never set foot in that room in the first place. Tamaki x OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, only my oc's

What. The fuck. Is this... _thing._ I gazed in horror at my reflection in the cracked mirror on the wall. "All I need is some chocolate and gram crackers and I could totally make smores. Mmmmmmm...Smores." I licked my lips, fantasizing about turning my yellow marshmallow dress into a delicious chocolatey snack.

"Marie, come on! If you don't hurry, I'm gonna be late!" My 6 year old sister, Andrea, yelled. Taking one last look at my marshmallowy appearance, mentally pleading that the image would change. It didn't. Of course it wouldn't. Because logic.

"TA-DA!" The kitchen was a mess. Bowls of every size filled the sink and flooded out to the counter, milk spilled in puddles on the floor. ' _Note to self, add: "clean the kitchen" to my endless list of things to do after school_ ' in the middle of the chaos, was Andrea. Who was covered in flour and adorable as hell. "Look, I made pancakes! I made 'em pink too! To celebrate your first day at Ouran academy" She pointed to the small counter island at a green plate with two adorable, pink (and slightly charred) pancakes adorning its surface. I smiled as enthusiastically as I could and took my seat. She pressed a fork into my hand, looking at my pancakes longingly. Smirking, I took out her favorite unicorn plate from the cupboard and put it on the table across from me, placing one of my adorable pancakes on top of the cartoony equestrian.

"I wouldn't want my little chef to starve, would I?" She squealed with joy and started to inhale the pancake like a vacuum cleaner. Me, on the other hand, I ate chewing slowly, savoring the fluffy goodness. Andrea was awesome. Sure, she had her moments (like now) but, hey, what can you do? I collected our plates and squeezed them into the crammed sink. _'god that's gonna be a pain to clean'_ I struck a pose, pointing to the ceiling.

"Alrighty then! School time!" Andrea giggled. I smiled warmly. My sister was the light of my life. Dad died shortly after she was born, and mom is currently in a coma because of a car accident that happened four years ago. I had to drop out of my private high school after my first year because of the tuition price, so when I saw an opportunity to further my education, I took it. And now, continuing in my second year of high school, I have a music scholarship to ouran academy. I grabbed the two bentos I had made last night from the fridge and handed one to my sister and tucked the other into my school bag. Double checking that I had everything, I ushered my sister out the door, making sure to lock it safely behind me. Luckily, Andrea's elementary school was only a few blocks away from Ouran, so walking wasn't really a problem.

"Marieeee~ the hill is too tall, carry me?" She looked up at me sweetly. I frowned and put my hands on my hips. "What's the magic word?" Smiling brightly, she said, "Pretty please, carry me?" chuckling, I leaned down to one knee, my back towards her. Andrea hopped onto my back, nearly pushing me over. I made an audible 'oof' sound as I hefted her up the steep hill effortlessly. Most of my part time jobs involved carrying heavy things, (TV's, couches, pool tables, etc...) so, really, Andrea felt like a stuffed animal right now. I came to a halt in front of her school.

"And thank you for flying 'Air-Marie'." I said while pinching my nose, making my voice come out weird. She giggled a bit at that. I lowered her down to the ground gently, waiting until I could feel both of her tiny feet on the pavement. I glanced at my digital watch. 'damn, that late already?' I turned to look at Andrea, who was pouting at me at full power.

"Promise you won't be too late to pick me up?" She said. I smiled gently and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I promise I won't be late." She beamed at me. "Bye-bye, big sister!" she waved at me from the gate and then left for class.

"Speaking of class, I'm gonna have to run to make it at this rate! Yosh! Let's go!" I stretched out my legs, which was hard in a marshmallow dress, then took off like a bullet from a gun. I skidded to a halt at the front gates of my...Holy mother of god! _please_ say that's not my school. I looked up at the sign over the gate. 'Ouran Academy' I sighed, yep, this is it. But seriously, of all the colors, why pink? I deal with enough pink at home, why did the infernal color have to bleed into my school life?

"My name is Maria Yuki, please take care of me." I introduced myself to the class. Did I do that right? My teacher asked me to sit next to Tamaki Suoh. Who raised his hand enthusiastically, As I walked towards my seat, I received many evil glares from the girl population of the class. It was understandable, I mean, Suoh was _hot._ Really hot. I could feel his violet eyes on me as I sat at the desk. He was about to ask a question when the teacher called the class to order. I took notes on everything, making sure not to leave anything out from the teacher's lecture on latin roots. I went to a private high school before, so the advanced curriculum was to be expected. What I didn't expect, however, was Suoh-san waiting for me outside the door after class ended for the day.


	2. Unexpected Respect

**Disclaimer: I do** **not** **own ouran high school host club, only my oc's**

Purple eyes stared at me intensely. I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, my inner fangirl working on overdrive. ' _ohmygodohmygodohmygodwhyishelookingatme!'_

"You have a unique hair... me princess, does blue hair run in your family?" I wasn't sure whether to be weirded out by his question, or flattered. He had a right to be curious. I mean, I did have _blue_ hair, a pixie cut, and a chain ear cuff. I had to look older for most of my part-time jobs, I even considered getting a tattoo at one point, but thought better against it.

"Not really, I dyed my hair blue last summer, why? Does it look weird?" I stared at my feet. Well, part of that was a lie, I had dyed my hair a while ago. I had never really thought that my hair color would be this troublesome. Did it really look that ridiculous? Maybe I should dye it back to blonde-

"That's so COOL! Maybe I should dye my hair? Yes, but what color would suit such a magnificent being such as myself?" I sweatdropped. Was there something mentally wrong with his brain functions?

"Actually, that might be a beneficial idea for the club, studies show that women are more attracted to men with unnaturally dyed hair." I jumped and shrieked in surprise. Turning around, I saw a tall boy with dark hair and thin rimmed glasses that practically gleamed with evil intent as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose. I shuddered, a cold chill settling in the pit of my stomach. This couldn't be good.

"Yes! Then it's decided, next Monday club meeting shall be dubbed 'punk day' in honor of miss Maria Yuki's hair." My eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance. What kind of club were they running exactly? Punk day? What, was she some kind of delinquent or something? Apparently so. Well, whatever, I didn't particularly mind much. I checked my clock. Shit! I was gonna have to run to keep my promise now!

"Um, Suoh-san? I have to be somewhere in five minutes that's pretty far from the school. So if you wouldn't mind-" I started to say until I was rudely interrupted by a certain blonde idiot.

"Say no more! I shall give you a ride, princess. Oh! The life of a commoner, how tragic!" I weighed the pros and cons of his offer. On one hand, if I ran, I could make it, but I'd be really late, breaking the promise I had made with Andrea. On the other hand, If I went by car...

"Well, if you wouldn't mind driving me, then I won't object." I made my decision. I hated breaking my promises, and I'd almost never broken a promise with my sister. Tamaki herded me quickly out of the school and into his very snazzy looking limo. Hell, the chauffeur was even holding up a card with his name on it. Goddamn rich people.

"So, miss Maria, where would you like to go?" Tamaki asked politely.

"Just keep going along this road for about ten blocks." I directed the driver as the engine roared to life. As one of my part-time jobs was as a car mechanic, I had a certain respect for cars. The urge to crack it open and take it apart was absolutely _killing_ me. I also knew how to drive a car as well, but since she did not have a guardian available, getting a learner's permit was impossible. I was so spaced out that I didn't notice the elementary school come into view and nearly pass.

"STOP!" The limo screeched to a halt, the driver looked back at me with alarm. I blushed, I hadn't meant to do that. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. This is where I needed to go." I got out of the car and and started to walk towards the school playground. Hearing the opening of a car door, I looked behind me to see Tamaki close at my heels, looking almost excited.

"I've never seen a commoner's elementary school before!" I sighed and rolled my eyes. Well, no harm done. I continued my route to the playground. My heart clenched with guilt. It was completely empty. Save for a certain unicorn obsessed little girl. I could feel Tamaki's eyes on me, confused. I made my way over to her, kneeling to Andrea's eye level. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. As she looked up at me, a stray tear fell down her cheek. I wiped away the tear with my thumb, holding her gaze with a comforting smile. She frowned at me, her eyes disapproving. She had every right to be upset, I broke our promise.

"Y-You promised me t-that you wouldn't be late this time." She whimpered, her voice barely over a whisper, but loud enough that I knew even Tamaki could hear. "You promised, y-you promised, YOU PROMISED!" She yelled out her sadness. I took her hands in mine, hoping that it would seem reassuring to her.

"I'm sorry, Andrea. I'm so sorry." Andrea looked away. I didn't care that Tamaki was there anymore, to me, all that matters right now is my sister. "I know things have been hard for you, Andrea, and I'm trying, I really am. I've taken job after job to help support us, I taught myself how to fight to protect us, I even learned how to cook to feed us! And you remember how that worked out when I first started. She giggled at me a bit.

"Yep When you first tried to make an omelette, the kitchen almost went 'BOOM!'" I smiled warmly. It was true. Back then, I could have probably burned water without even trying.

"That's right, I did almost make the kitchen go, 'BOOM!'. But the important thing was, that I learned to be a better cook, but that took time. It's hard to learn to be a Mom, Dad, and ultra cool sister all at the same time. But, even though it's been a while since Mom and Dad weren't with us, I'm still learning." I heard Tamaki's breath hitch in his throat at the mention of my parents.

"It's been hard, and in time, it might get harder. I'm going to Ouran to get a good job, and make sure you have a good future. It's gonna take a while for me to learn all these things, so until I do, could you help me?" She looked up at me, tears now forgotten.

"How do I do that?" I beamed.

"Just be yourself, silly! Now, give me a smile!" I struck the same pose as this morning and pointed to the sky. Andrea wiped her eyes, stood up and grinned, mimicking my trademark pose with gusto. Wow, when did I become so sentimental? Maybe I'm watching too much anime.

"Ahem." Tamaki cleared his throat, reminding me of his presence. "Would you like me to give you a ride home, princesses." Now, don't think I'm crazy, but I _swear_ I just saw a background of roses behind him. I looked at Andrea, who's gaze was transfixed on his face. I sighed. _'this day just keeps getting longer'_

"Look, Marie! It's a prince!" I patted her on the head.

"No, Andrea. That there is Mr. Idiot. Repeat after me: ID-E-OT" Tamaki froze, taking up the hobby of drawing unhappy circles in the dirt, you could practically see the rain cloud above his head.

"Oh, okay! Nice ta meet 'ya, Mr. Idiot!" At that point, the poor guy deflated, plopping to the ground in a pathetic, balloony heap of a person. I sniggered. ' _ha! You tell 'im lil sis! no one calls me punk and gets away with it!_ ' I picked up Tamaki by his collar and dragged his empty shell across the pavement, throwing him into the car roughly. I got into the car by the opposite door and Andrea had taken to sitting in my lap. It strained the seat belt a bit, but there wasn't too much trouble in buckling both of us up safely with one belt. Half way to my apartment, and Tamaki was looking at me, a million questions dancing in his eyes. But they also portrayed an emotion she didn't expect. Respect.


	3. Who are you?

**Disclaimer: I do** **not** **own ouran high school host club, only my oc's**

Tamaki's POV:

I sipped my tea slowly, watching Maria move around the kitchen with practiced precision. When she had asked him to come in for some tea and dinner as a thanks for driving her, I accepted out of pure curiosity. But if curiosity didn't kill the cat soon, the pink unicorn from hell would.

"And then I saved the princess from the castle! But before I could rescue her from being abducted by aliens, a evil vampire bear came and ate her!" Maria's sister, Andrea (evil incarnate wearing pink) bounced up and down in her chair across from him at the small kitchen table. Retelling the dream she had last night for the _tenth time._ This time, an evil vampire bear ate the princess. Before that it was an evil vampire squirrel, and before that, it was a ninja vampire. Squirrels, ninjas, and bears, oh my. I am convinced that she has some kind of obsession with vampires. And why did the princess always die in the end? Maria smirked, amused at my frustrated expression, and then turned her focus back to her quickly thrown together stir-fry. I watched in awe as she cut a sweet pepper with her right hand, knife blurring. While her left hand was preoccupied with expertly flipping the fried rice in the large pan over the stove, making sure no grains fell to the floor.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?" Once again, my curiosity got the best of me. But this time, I was dealing with the devil herself. She looked over at him through half-lidded eyes. He took note of the dark circles that graced her near flawless complexion.

"Well, a couple years back, a lot of stuff happened, and me and Andrea were constantly eating fast food or take-out because of it." Tamaki had a pretty good idea about what that 'stuff' was. "It started with the lady who used to live next to us. We used to sit near the air vent, smelling the delicious food being cooked in the next room. After a while, I finally 'manned' up, and asked her to teach me how to cook." When he had first met Maria today, he had never expected any of this to happen. But he still couldn't help the growing respect he was starting to feel towards her. She had been taking care of her sister for who knows how long, with no parents to guide her. But he just couldn't pity her. Every time he tried, the feeling was replaced with something unknown. a emotion he couldn't place. His thoughts were interrupted by the plate that was placed in front of him.

"Is it edible?" He poked it skeptically with his fork. Maria scowled. Snatching the fork from his unsuspecting hand, she took a mouthful of his dinner(?) She chewed carefully, brows bunched together in concentration.

"Needs more nutmeg." she stated plainly. "But otherwise, it's not poisoned." She went to the sink, washed off the fork, and then handed the utensil back. All within five seconds. Sitting down at the head of the tiny table, she started to dig into her own dinner. He took a bite of the stir-fry, and nearly choked. It was _good._ He swallowed the rice immediately and unceremoniously shoveled the rest of the meal into his mouth. Gulping down a glass of water handed to him by Maria, who looked horrified by his lack of manners.

"Wow, marie! Idiot-chan must have been really hungry!" Tamaki cringed at the suffix added to the end of his name. ' _I knew I never liked kids_ ' _._ looking over at Andrea, who was shoving the rice down her throat as fast as her tiny mouth would allow her. And then looking over at Maria, who was eating her food slowly, savoring every small bite she took. She suddenly looked over at me, staring intently at my face. Before I had a chance to react, she took the paper napkin from her lap and wiped the excess meal from my forehead. He suddenly felt embarrassed, feeling his face heating up. Just how messily had I eaten for rice to have gotten on my forehead?

"That was going to bug me." she muttered under her breath. Then she abruptly stopped, as if she hadn't realized what she was doing. She flushed, which in turn caused him to blush more, to the point that they both looked like ripe tomatoes.

"Marie?" Andrea broke them out of their trance, Tamaki quickly looked away from her piercing cerulean eyes, finding an interesting stain on the wall. ' _huh, looks like usa-chan_ ' He stole a glance at his host to see her cleaning Andrea's face the way she had cleaned his. For some reason, his heart sank at he thanked her for the meal and left, He had many questions, but one puzzled him the most: Maria Yuki, just who are you?

Maria's POV:

"-evil vampire bear came and ate her!" Maria was only half-listening to her sister at the moment. Tamaki's pleading glare screamed, ' _God, kill me now_ ' but unfortunately, he wouldn't get his wish. But one thing she'd make sure of, was that he'd at least leave with a happy stomach. I smiled. Feeling his eyes on me. I admit it, I was showing off a teensy bit. If you call chopping a pepper with one hand at impossible speeds and using inhuman strength to flip the rice in the enormous pan she had bought last week with some of the money she had saved up from her infinite job list.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?" Tamaki asked. Huh, that wasn't a question she had been expecting. I couldn't tell him I learned how to cook from working in a bar kitchen, and I didn't really tell Andrea about where I work, so...

"Well, a couple years back, a lot of stuff happened, and me and Andrea were constantly eating fast food or take-out because of it." That was the truth at least. Now on to the lies, "It started with the lady who used to live next to us. We used to sit near the air vent, smelling the delicious food being cooked in the next room. After a while, I finally 'manned' up, and asked her to teach me how to cook." Part of that was the truth too, except the lady next door still lived next to us, and the vents _still_ pumped in delicious food smells (Which used to be torture, seeing as I used to not know how to cook). I hated to tell lies. I really did. It chipped away at my heart and filled me with guilt. But it was necessary. I sighed as I finished up the stir-fry. I took out a pink, green, and purple plate. I liked to pair each person with a certain color, my brain was weird like that. Separating the rice into three sections in the pan with my spatula, I poured each section onto the plates.

I made sure to put less on my plate, making it seem like the same amount by stuffing extra veggies under the pile of rice. It was a trick I learned a while back when Andrea and I didn't really have much money to buy food, so unknowingly, her sibling was actually eating more than her. It might have been a bit unhealthy, but she made up for it with the huge lunches she always made. And when she ate too much or felt a little on the big side, the answer was simple: exercise. I had it all worked out. At the moment, my life was semi-perfect. ' _yeah, almost convinced myself there, for a sec_ '

"Is it edible?" Tamaki poked at his food after she served him. Good god, was he seriously going to refuse my cooking?! Nope, wouldn't let him. I snatched his utensil away from him and shoved a fork full of the food in my mouth. ' _weird, I thought for sure I had added enough of it_ '

"Needs more nutmeg" she said without meaning to. "But otherwise, it's not poisoned." She said smartly. He still looked skeptical. Sitting at my seat, I started to eat my food, savoring the taste in every bite. ' _still got it, heh_ ' he took a bite. She tried not to fall out of her seat with anticipation. Then, he choked. Uhhhhhh. Should I help him? He recovered from his near choking accident only to decrease his chances of survival by 50%. Shoveling down food like that, he'd probably choke again. Getting up from the table, She poured a glass of water for him. She was a bit disgusted with his manners. Honestly, he's just like Andrea. You'd think a rich kid would be more disciplined than this.

3, 2, 1, aaannnnddd- her countdown was interrupted by violent coughing. Yep, he choked. Having already predicting this, she shoved the glass into his hand, watching him gulp it down in three seconds? three point five seconds? Screw math, who cares. Then, Andrea said the funniest thing she'd heard all day.

"Wow, Marie! Idiot-chan must have been really hungry!" Instead of laughing (like I should have been) I held it in, taking a sip of my water, trying to not do a comical spit take. I had humiliated him enough for one day. I almost felt bad for the poor sap. Something caught her eye. A cluster of rice was stuck to Tamaki's forehead. Without really thinking, she set to work gingerly wiping the rice off of his forehead (how the hell had that happened?)

"That was going to bug me" I muttered, still not thinking straight.

Freezing, she realized what she was doing. ' _ohgodohgodohgodIactuallytouchedhisgodlyhandsomeface!Whyyyyyy?!_ ' My face heated up to maximum, like someone had turned my head into a stove, and turned it on full heat. Dear lord, just wanted to tell you, WHAT THE FUCK! We locked eyes, cerulean blue meeting deep violet. Only to be interrupted by Andrea.

"Marie?" My hand shot back to my side immediately, napkin still in hand. ' _think brain, think! umm...um...GOT IT!_ ' I looked over to Andrea to see her face covered in rice, even having rice so far as her ears. As much as her sister would hate it, she would need a bath tonight. I gently cupped her chin in mine, she protested when I started to clean her face, telling me that she could do it herself. I snuck a glance at Tamaki, to her surprise, he looked a bit defeated. I looked at the clock, it was late, far past Andrea's bedtime. He abruptly thanked her for the meal and left, without another word. She had many questions running through her head at that moment, but one stuck in her head: Tamaki Suoh, what kind of person are you?


	4. Contained feelings

**Disclaimer: I do** **not** **own ouran high school host club, only my oc's**

 _"Mom?" Snow fell outside, but it was by no means silent. The only thing she could hear was the blood rushing in her own ears, her mom's feint, nearly nonexistent breathing, and her sister, Andrea crying from her baby chair in the back of the car. looking behind to the back seat, she saw that Andrea was gone. Her cries fading. Mom looked up at me, eyes and ears bleeding thick red blood._

 _"Don't worry sweetie, I'll protect you forever."_

Maria bolted out of bed, throwing forgotten covers aside, practically running to her younger sibling's room. Hands trembling with uncertainty and fear as she turned the handle, comforted by the reassuring image of Andrea's sleeping form, tucked snugly beneath her sheets. Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I heard a whimper coming from the six year old. Apparently, she was having a rough night too. As I was about to leave, she said a word I hadn't heard her say for a long time.

"Mama..." Her words made my heart clench with guilt. I could never provide her with the motherly love she so desperately desired. it was impossible. Was I useless to her? No. I wouldn't let that happen. I kneeled at her bedside, and squeezed her hand gently, not enough to wake her up.

"Mama's here n-now," My voice cracked on the last words. "I'll never let anything bad happen to you, not ever. I won't break my promise this time." She squeezed my hand back, smiling in her sleep. I mimicked the words my mom said to me before she fell into a coma. "Don't worry, I'll protect you forever."

* * *

School was long and boring. When class finally ended for the day, I realized that Andrea had a club meeting today with her friends after school, so I had more time before I had to pick her up. It had been a week since I had talked to Tamaki, not since his was over at my house for dinner. I flushed, remembering when I had wiped the rice off of his flawless pale skin, how his violet eyes had bored into my own cerulean orbs.

"Wait, where the hell am I?" without realizing it, I had gotten myself hopelessly lost. ' _huh, music room#3. I am here on a music scholarship, may as well play some music_ ' The door to the room was huge, and after much effort, I squeezed through the tiny opening I had managed to create. Flipping the light switch, I stepped into the enormous high-ceiling room. It was empty except for a steinway & sons grand piano. My breath caught in my throat. I hadn't played a grand piano since...My fingers twitched. I had to play that piano. I started out in a brisk walk towards the instrument, then a run, then a mad dash to the bench. I slammed the cover off of the keys, not caring for the piano's well-being. Immediately, I started to play.

It was an intricate piece I had long since forgotten the name of. I had composed it shortly before the accident. It started out slow, gradually speeding up. Until the point that I couldn't even count the notes that I played. Chills ran down my spine. I had missed this. I could feel myself crying, but I didn't care. I played out my feelings, the song carrying deep emotions that I could never bring myself to speak. It ended with a grand flourish, starting at the high c mark, and going down to the lowest note. I took my fingers off the keys, panting heavily. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. This piano, it was perfectly tuned, perfectly finished, and was incredibly amazing. I smiled sadly, wiping the tears off of the keys with my handkerchief. I heard clapping and...sniffling?

"That was _beautiful_ , Miss Marie." I looked over at my 'audience'. Purple eyes bore into mine. As well as several others.

 **Yeah, I know it's short, but I'm crunched for time today! PLEASEDON'TKILLME! Anyway, please read, and review. suggestions are welcome, I haven't thought out the entire plot yet, and the main pairings may change. I'm still new to** **, so go easy on the flames. It hurts my self-esteem.**


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